A Toolamba man who promised to sell hay bales but never delivered left a trail of 22 victims across the Goulburn Valley over the past year.
The man, who pleaded guilty to scores of charges in the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court, had also committed offences while on bail.
He has also pleaded guilty to numerous charges of theft by deception involving dozens of smaller sales of tomatoes and capsicums advertised on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree.
Joseph Matthew Villani is on bail while the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court waits for a community corrections assessment.
Villani has already spent 38 days in custody while waiting for his case to be heard.
He allegedly spent much of the money he made on drugs, a psychic and gambling, a court has heard.
The scam operated between March 4 last year and May 24 this year.
Police said Villani had spoken of goods being organised to be delivered on a specific date, followed by messages from him about problems with transport, before he stopped responding to the messages.
None of the victims were successful in obtaining refunds.
Villani, 42, lived on 20 hectare property at Toolamba, which was ransacked while he was in jail.
Villani told police he grew the tomatoes and made hay at his property but he “had an unfortunate year last year” with the hay becoming mouldy, the tomatoes getting diseases and the lambs he was going to sell, dying.
Police told an earlier hearing many of the people who had allegedly been scammed by Villani were victims of the October floods and needed to buy hay to feed their cattle.
Police said Villani had also used the names of Matteo Villani and Gino Ventura.
Early last year, when the offending began, Villani had advertised a cattle crush for sale, but after receiving a bank transfer of $2500, Villani demanded more money from the victim.
Villani cut off communications and did not deliver the cattle crush or a refund.
Representing Villani, Luke Slater told the court there had been no further offending and his client had attended behavioural change programs and counselling.
Magistrate Marita Altman adjourned the case on Friday, December 15, while a community corrections assessment was made.
She noted Villani had pleaded guilty to many charges, which avoided a protracted hearing.